Method of and apparatus for folding



Dec. 16, 1941.

H. E. GREENLEAF METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FOLDING Filed July 24, 1940 5N TURL Patented Dec. 16, 1941 METHOD OF- AND APPARATUS FOR FOLDING Harold E. Greenleaf, Haverhill, Mass., assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Borough of Flemington, N. J.; a corporation of New Jersey Application July 24, 194i), Serial Nef 341,182

7 Claims. (ci. 1pz-55.)

This invention relates to folding the margins of pieces of sheet material and more particularly to methods of and machines for folding edge binding, which has been secured to one face of a piece of sheet material, around the edge thereof and against the opposite face.

In the manufacture of shoes, it is customary to bind the edges of shoe uppers with material ,such as French binding, Which usually consists of a strip of fabric or the like which has been secured as by stitching to the nished side of the shoe upper along the margin thereof, this binding being folded over the edge and secured as by means of adhesive to the inner face of the upper. it is desirable to avoid making the bound edge ,of the upper too thick and bulky. An object of portion of the corner of the Work piece being pressed inwardly of the edge against the upper margin of the work piece during -the pressing of the folded binding strip so that the edge of the work piece, if the binding strip is removed for inspection, has the appearance of having been skived prior to the application of binding strip thereto. This operation of reducing the thickness of the edge of the Work piece during the folding of the binding strip entails no loss of time or additional expense in the manufacture 'of the shoe, since the folding of the binding strip and the reduction in the thickness of the edge of the work piece are accomplished in a single operation.

Another object is to provide an improved folding machine by which the method may be carried out. As illustrated, and in accordance with features of the invention, the creaser foot contacts the margin at one point in its progress close to a gage which contacts the edge of the Work. The creaser foot is cut back to permit the folding finger to move in a path intersecting the edge surface of the body of the work piece thereby to, upset the corner during the folding of a binding strip around the edge thereof, the upset corner In order to insure a pleasing appearance,

being pressed inwardly against the upper margin of the work as the binding strip is pressed thereagainst, thus obtaining an effect of a skived edge along the body of the work piece.

These and other features of this invention will now be described in detail and illustrated in the drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a portion of a machine embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 isr a sectional view on a large scale on the line II-II of Fig. 1,; l

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line IIhI-VIII of Fig. 2, the scale being that of Fig. 1;

Fig, 4 is a plan view on a large scale partly in section illustrating a piece of work in the process of being folded;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section on a large scale through a portion of the machine illustrating the location of the work during one stage of the folding operation, the thickness of the work being exaggerated better to illustrate the action thereon; and

Fig. 6 is a View similar to Fig. 5 but showing the condition o -f the same section of the work at the completion of the folding operation.

The invention is illustrated as embodied in a machine of the type illustrated in Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,702,598, granted February 19, 192,9, on an application of P. R. Glass. The machine, like the patented machine, comprises a work support l0 located at the outer end of an arm l2 extending above the bench on which the machine is supported. The machine also comprises an arm le overhanging the arm I2, the arms I2 and YI4 supporting the folding instrumentalities. The machine is arranged to fold a binding strip B which has been secured as indicated in Figs. 4 and 5 to one side of a piece of Work W, such as a part of a shoe upper, the binding strip being folded about the edge of the work piece and pressed against the opposite side thereof.

The margin of the work to which the binding strip is secured is supported upon a plate I6 having a groove `Iii therein for receiving the doubled margin of the binding strip where it is secured .to the Work piece as indicated clearly in Fig. `5.

A gage finger 2B which engages the edge of the work piece, as indicated in Fig. 4, positions the work relative -to the plate I6 for the action of a folding linger `22 which oscillates from a point below the upper surface of the arm l2 to a position thereabove to fold the binding strip about the edge o f the work piece. This folding finger is mounted at the end of an arm 24 .(Fig. 3), the

opposite end of which is pivoted on a pin 26 eccentrically secured in the outer end of the arm I2. A crank pin 28 in the outer end of a constantly rotating shaft 3i! engages a slotted pin in an intermediate portion of the arm 24 to oscillate the folding finger 22 about the pin 26. An arm 32 (Fig. l) secured to the outer end of the pin 26 is provided for adjusting the pin and locking the same in adjusted position to vary the path of movement of the folding finger relative to the work transversely of the edge thereof,

During the action of the folding finger the work is held against movement on the work support by a creaser foot 34 which cooperates with a block Sii, known asa release arm, and mounted on a shaft 3l to oscillate from a position below the surface of the work support I8 to a position above the surface of the work support. When the block is in its upper position an extension 3B thereon (Fig. 2) maintains the work against the under surface of the creaser foot to prevent movement of the work. The creaser foot 34 is supported at the outer end of an arm Il@ which is in turn plvoted by a screw 42 to a bracket Q4 extending downwardly from the arm lli. An arm 45 extends rearwlardly from the arm i5 and is provided for lifting the creaser foot when desired about the pivot screw 42. The gage finger 2i] is mounted for vertical movement in a bracket i8 which is in turn secured to a horizontally .adjustable slide 50 supported by the arm i4. An arm 52 engages a pin 54 securedtothe gage finger 26 and passing through a` slot inthe bracket 48 whereby upward movement-may be imparted to the gage finger whenever the operator depresses the arm 52 against the force exerted by a spring 56.

After the binding strip has been folded over the edge of the work by the folding nger 22, the stripis pressed downwardly againstV the upper margin of the work-by a cooperating hammer 53 and anvil 60. The hammer moves downwardly toward theanvil to press the strip against the work and the hammer and anvil then -move as a unit to feed the work a short distance duringwhichr timethe block 36 is moved downwardly to release the grip on the work as explained fully in the aforementioned Glass patent. The machine differs from the patented machine, however, in-that', as indicated in Figs. 2

and 4,- the creaser foot Saris cut back or recessed at 35 Iadjacent to that portion which is opposite to the folding` finger 22. Thel other portion of .the work-engaging surfaceV of the creaser `footis positioned in close proximity to the lower end of the gage finger 26 to prevent upward displacement of the work between the creaser -foot and the gage finger during upward movements vof the folding finger thus permitting accurate gaging of the work by the gage finger which would not bepossible if the work were allowed to move upwardly at the point of contact of the gage finger. The path of movement ofthe folding finger extends through the recessed portion of the creaser foot, as indicated in Figs. 3 and 5, and intersects the edge surface ofthe work so that the folding finger, in addition to folding the binding strip about the edge of the work piece, will also cause an upward displacement of the corner of the work piece, as indi-cated at t2 in'Fig. 5, and upset it toward the upper margin of the work. Since the work is held against upward movement by the creaser foot at the point of gaging only a slight upward movement of theileather is caused by the folding finger, thus increasing the action of the folding finger in upsetting the corner of the body of the work piece. Upon downward movement of the hammer to press the binding strip against the work, the hammer presses the upset portion 62 inwardly of the edge thereof as indicated in Fig. 6 While at the same time flattening the body of the work against the anvil. The result of this is that a portion of the material at the upper corner of the work along the edge thereof is pressed inwardly of the edge so that actually there is less stock along the edge of the material than formerly, and the leather thus treated has the appearance of having been skived. Accordingly, the bound edge of the work at the completion of the folding operation is thinner than it would be if the binding strip were folded in a conventional folding machine unless the leather has been previously skived or otherwise similarly treated, thus imparting an improved appearance to a shoe orV article in which the material with the bound edge is to be employed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United Statesis:

1. In a machine for folding edge bindings, a work support, means for holding the margin of a piece of work to which an edge binding has been secured flat against said support, reciprocable means for folding the edge binding, said folding means being arranged to upset the corner of the body of the work piece duringV said folding operation, and means for pressing the binding against the body of the workand simultaneously pressing the upset portion of the work inwardly against the body thereof.

, 2..In a machine for folding edge bindings, a work support, a gage cooperating with the edge of a piece of work to which an edge binding has been secured, means for holding the body of the work against said support, a portion of said holding means lying close to said gage to prevent upward movement of the portionV of the work piece contacting' said gage, movable means for folding the edge binding, said folding means cooperating with said holding means to displace the upper margin of the work piece just beyond said gage during said'foldin'g operation, and means for' pressing the binding against the body of the work and simultaneously 'pressing the vdisplaced marginal portion. of the work inwardly against the body thereof.

3.` In a machine for folding edge bindings, a work support over which a work piece may be fed, a creaser foot arranged to hold a piece of work to which an edge binding has been secured against said work support, a reciprocable folding finger-arranged 'to engagethe edge bindingand bend it around the edge of the work piece and againstsaid creaser foot, said creaser foot having a portion extending beyond the path of movement of the folding `finger and a gage finger adjacent to said partion of said creaser foot, said gage finger and said portion of the creaser foot cooperating to locate the work on the work support relative to the folding finger and to prevent upward movement of the margin of the work at the point of gaging.

4. In a machine for folding edge bindings, a work support over which a work piece may be fed, a creaser foot arranged to hold a piece of work to which an edge binding has been secured againstl said support, a gage finger arranged to engage the edge of the work piece and position it relative to said creaser foot, the work-engaging portion of said creaser foot being recessed beyond the gage nger in the direction of feed of the work, and reciprocable means for folding the edge binding and displacing upwardly a portion of the corner of the Work piece against the recessed portion of said creaser foot.

5. In a machine for folding edge bindings, a Work support over which a Work piece may be fed, a creaser foot arranged to engage a piece of Work to which an edge binding has been secured and to hold the piece of Work against said support, a gage iinger arranged to engage the edge of said work piece and position it relative to said creaser foot, said creaser foot being recessed beyond said gage nger in the direction of feed of the Work, a reciprocable folding nger cooperating with said recessed portion to hold the edge binding thereagainst and simultaneously to upset a portion of the corner of the Work piece, and means for pressing the folded edge binding against the upper face of the work and simultaneously pressing the upset corner of the work inwardly against the body of the Work piece.

6. In a folding machine, a Work support, a

creaser foot having a portion arranged to hold the margin of a work piece against said work support, an edge gage adjacent to a portion of said creaser foot, said edge gage and said creaser foot cooperating to locate the Work and prevent upward movement of the margin of the work therebetween, said creaser foot having a recessed portion located beyond said nrst-named portion in the direction of feed, and means cooperating with the recessed portion of said creaser foot for upsetting the corner of the Work piece along the upper margin thereof.

7. The method of folding edge binding which comprises bending the binding over an edge of a work piece to one face of which the binding has been secured, upsetting a corner portion of the upper margin only of the Work piece, and pressing the binding against the opposite face of the work piece and'simultaneously pressing the upset corner of the work piece inwardly against the upper margin thereof thereby causing the edge of the Work piece about which the binding is folded to be reduced in thickness.

HAROLD E. GREENLEAF.

CERTIFICATE or coRREcTIoN. Patent No. 2,266,026. December 16, 19141.

HAROLD E. GREENLEAF.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page l, second column, line 19, for "location" read --conditi on; page 2, second column, line 65, claim 5, for "partion" read portion; page 5, first column, line l?, claim 5, for "hold" read -fold; and that the said Lettersl Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 5rd day of February A. D. 19L2.

Henry Van Arsdale, (Seal) Acting Commis sioner of Patents. 

